Gin Fix. Jerry Thomas, 1862.

(use small bar glass.) 1 table-spoonful of sugar. 1/4 of a lemon. 1/2 a wine-glass of water. 1 do. gin Fill two-thirds full of shaved ice. Stir with a spoon, and ornament the top with fruits in season.

Gin Fix. Jerry Thomas, 1887.

(use small bar glass.) Take 1 large tea-spoonful of powdered white sugar dissolved in a little water. 2 dashes of Raspberry syrup. The juice of a quarter of a lemon. 1 wine-glass of Holland gin. Fill up the glass two-thirds full of shaved ice, stir thoroughly, and ornament the top with berries in season. Old Tom gin may be used if preferred.

„And, immediately, I had my “madeleine moment”. I was back in my childhood on the Isle of Wight, going blackberrying, and being pricked by the brambles, and picking only the topmost fruit – you don’t eat the bottom ones, of course. During carnival time on the Isle of Wight, we were all covered in tiny scratches from the brambles and bright purple from the blackberry juice.“[4]

„So I made it again. And this time I put it in my favourite glass, which is a small old-fashioned: we loved those Mai-Tai glasses, and we had plenty at Fred’s. I put crushed ice into a small old-fashioned in a volcano shape, and poured the lemon juice mix in it. I dropped two little straws in it, and decided that this volcano shape looked rather nice, so I placed a raspberry on top of it and drizzled mûre around it. Not too much mûre, of course: the drink has got to balance. That’s the art of The Bramble: to include enough lemon to balance the mûre. Why was it a raspberry? Because I didn’t have any blackberries. Fruits weren’t as available in those days.“[4]